Proliferative hemorrhagic enteropathy in swine: an outbreak and review of the literature

Abstract

An account is given of an acute outbreak of hemorrhagic enteric disease in 34 young adult boars of primarily Yorkshire breeding at a performance testing station in Western Canada. Two of the boars died. A diagnosis of proliferative hemorrhagic enteropathy was made on the basis of clinical signs, gross necropsy and histopathological lesions. Campylobacter-like bacteria were seen in the apical cytoplasm of epithelial cells of the ileal mucosa by Warthin-Faulkner stain on histological sections, but were not isolated on culture. Treatment with several drugs simultaneously was associated with termination of the outbreak, but the therapeutic effect was not controlled by leaving some animals untreated. Reported sequelae, such as porcine intestinal adenomatosis, were not present at necropsy or slaughter of pigs surviving the outbreak, but all were killed no longer than two months after the first case was observed. This outbreak is discussed in the context of previously reported hemorrhagic enteric conditions of pigs.